Mahoning Valley beats Ice Diggers, 5-2

The Phantoms moved into a four-way tie for second place in the North Division. ALPENA, Mich. - Adam Snead scored and added an assist, and Ryan Zapolski stopped 28 shots to lead the Mahoning Valley Phantoms to a 5-2 win over the Alpena Ice Diggers Friday. "It was good to get a goal against them, but it was more important to get the win," said Snead, a former member of the Ice Diggers. Eric Ringel gave the Phantoms a 1-0 lead on a 5-on-3 power play on an assist from Derek Graham, at the 6:52 mark of the first period. The Phantoms (7-7-1) added to their lead on a misplay by Alpena goaltender Shawn Hunwick. Chris Fairbanks' shot bounced out and in front of Hunwick's glove. He tried to bat the puck away but instead tipped it up and over him and past the goal line. The Phantoms made it 3-0 with just 3.3 seconds remaining in the period on a goal by Dustin Cloutier. Quick start "We started quick, though it wasn't our best effort. But we can look at that as a positive," Phantoms coach Bob Mainhardt said. Kerry Bence got Alpena on the board in the second period, with 7:54 elapsed, but just 61/2 minutes later, Snead's slapshot beat backup goalie Mike Jarboe to make it 4-1. Matt Quigley added his league-leading 11th goal of the season just 80 seconds later and Alpena's Chad Billins finished the scoring at 3:35 of the third period. "We talked and worked a lot on special teams," Mainhardt said. "We made some minor adjustments and it paid off for us." The Phantoms moved into a four-way tie for second place in the NAHL's North Division with Traverse City, Marquette and the U.S. National Team. Alpena (10-4-0), which had its five-game winning streak snapped Friday, leads the division with 20 points. The teams play again today at 7 p.m. The game will be webcast on www.mvpphantoms.com.